Simple Kale Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

My best friend’s dad is seriously one of the best cooks I have ever met in my life. Megan and I grew up together, and I remember when I would go to her house for dinner, I would always be totally obsessed with anything her dad made. Baaaasically what I’m saying is that he rocks.

Anyway, I went to visit Megan and my other best friend in North Carolina for New Years Eve this year, and I stayed at Megan’s house with her Iron Chef father. He made dinner for his family every night, and I always snuck one (and by one, I mean several) bites of everything he made. IT WAS ALL SO GOOD. The thing that blew my mind the most was a delicious kale salad he made one evening.

It’s raw kale. In a salad. Just raw kale…I never, ever, ever thought that raw kale could taste so delicious. Hidden in a smoothie? Yes. Cooked in a soup? Yes. Raw in a lightly dressed salad?? No! But I was so wrong.

I knew right when I tried it that I needed to recreate his delicious salad for the blog. It fits in perfectly with what I love most – healthy food that tastes wonderful.

The crazy thing about this salad?? It’s so simple! Here’s what is in it:

Kale

Sliced almonds

Parmesan cheese

Lemon Vinaigrette (also very simple)

Another thing I love about this recipe is that it can sit in the fridge for several days without becoming wilty and ruined. Salads are never like that…you pretty much eat them fresh or you don’t eat them at all. Especially if they are already dressed. A dressed salad sitting in your fridge = wilty, gross mess.

Since kale is such a hearty green, it can sit in the fridge, dressed, for several days and still be delicious! Case and point: I made this salad on Saturday, and I had it for lunch today. It wasn’t wilted, but it did soak up most of the dressing. The only extra thing you need to do if you let this sit in your fridge for a while is drizzle a little extra dressing on the greens before eating, and even that is totally optional.

So good!!

So, kale is naturally a very tough green. Before the kale obsession swept America several years ago, we mainly saw it as a decoration in salad bars…poor kale. Because it is so tough, if you are using it raw in a salad (like this) I would recommend massaging it first.

Sounds super weird, right? I felt the same way and was slightly convinced that I would look like an idiot for five minutes and the kale would be zero percent different. I placed a few leaves aside and massaged the rest to see if I could really tell the difference. And I will tell you, people, I am a massaged kale convert. Yes, you will feel very strange kneading a pile of greens for several minutes on your cutting board, but do it anyway! Because it makes a huge difference!

The leaves transform from tough to tender as the cellulose structure breaks down. Even the color changes to a deeper, darker green! The leaves also reduce in size a bit. I would knead the kale for about three to five minutes, but a taste test will really be your guide – the kale should no longer be bitter. The massage really makes it quite delicious ?.

Mmm…massaged kale. Massaged kale sprinkled with fresh grated Parmesan and thin, slivered almonds. And the dressing! We can’t forget the dressing…lemon juice, olive oil, grated garlic, dijon mustard (yaassss), and salt/pepper…such a delicious, simple dressing that is perfect for this salad. Just make it…MAKE IT!

Bonus: this recipe is so good for you; I mean seriously, seriously good for you.Doesn’t it make you happy to eat healthy super foods like this?? It makes me happy. It makes me look like this dude > ?.

Instructions

For the kale, remove the fibrous stems, leaving you with just the greens. On your cutting board, pile all the leaves on top of each other and massage with your hands for about three to five minutes, until the leaves are no longer bitter. You use a similar motion as you would kneading bread! Move the leaves around every several kneads so you aren’t massaging some more than others. I know it sounds weird, but it really works!!

Slice the massaged kale into bite size pieces

To make the dressing, add all ingredients to a bowl and whisk together until thoroughly combined

To assemble the salad, place the kale, almonds, and Parmesan into a large bowl. Top with dressing and toss to combine

You may need less dressing (or maybe a little more) depending on the size of your bunches of kale. Just dress to your preference. The dressing is super easy to whip up if you need to make a little extra (for extra large bunches!)

*This recipe is gluten free*

If you make this or any of my other recipes, be sure to Instagram it and hashtag #thegarlicdiaries!

Good question! I haven’t, but in my experience with bagged kale, they end up being about 2 bunches worth of kale per bag (if it’s a big bag like the ones at my grocery store [Aldi]). However, bagged kale can be kind of a pain because they don’t remove the fibrous stems, so you have to pick through and find them and remove them. In my opinion, it takes longer, but your grocery store could do their bagged kale differently!

Delicious Salad!!! Just made it today and I’m sitting here eating it and I can’t stop! At first I was worried the salad dressing was too salty but it’s jist right once you dress the salad and let it sit for 30mins or so. Thanks for sharing this recipe!

I know that this recipe is a few years old. However, I just wanted to tell you that it is a go to salad at our house. Last summer I whipped this up while on a beach trip with extended family, many of whom had never had kale. They all raved about it! One thing that is great is how easy you can double or triple the batch.

Just had a fabulous meal with this recipe. A few mods: I used my own salted maple mixed nuts instead of almonds. I only kneaded for 30 seconds. I added pan fried cod cheeks and scrunchions. That’s not a typo

Hey Maya! I’m so glad you liked this salad! It’s one of my favorites, too :). So the nutrition info is for just 1/5 of the salad – the exact measurement amounts will depend on how big your bunches of kale are and how much it wilts when you knead the leaves. But if you can kind of eyeball 1/5 of the salad or even measure it out to see how much it made, you can figure out the serving size more accurately!

This kale holds up really well under dressing – it won’t wilt soon after adding the dressing like other salads since it’s such a hearty green. That being said, I DO think it tastes best right after being dressed! The kale soaks up some of the dressing over time, so it’s better when it’s super fresh in my opinion. I hope it turns out well for you!! This is a fave salad recipe of mine :).

This was SO good!!! I tried it just the way the recipe says and loved it. Then I added some other chopped raw veggies and it was good that way too. It is very similar to a recipe at a local restaurant except they add thinly sliced brussel sprouts which I am going to try next time I have them in the house. Thank you for the simplicity of this! I love the dressing

I made this yesterday, and it was amaaaaaazing! I’d never tried raw kale before, but it was delicious. I’m really looking forward to making it again, next time with a mix of green and purple kale. Thanks for the recipe!

Looks so simple and delicious! I’m trying this tonight. Any time I used slivered almonds in salads (which is a lot), I always toast them dry in a pan first and it brings such a tasty crunchy nutty flavor – I recommend trying it!

Made this last night and really enjoyed it, thank you! I’m new to the world of kale salads (tried one in a restaurant for the first time last month- what rock have I been hiding under?!). I might add dried cranberries or cherries next time for a little pop of sweetness. Great recipe!

It’s okay – I hadn’t tried them until relatively recently as well, and nooowww I’m obsessed!! So glad you tried this out and liked it!! I think some dried cranberries or cherries thrown on there would be a yummy addition :).

I had your simple kale salad a few days ago, prepared by a friend of my daughter’s…..and it was unbelievably good! I love your blog and will try more of your recipes soon. I plan to make this salad, at our cottage this weekend, when we are enjoying this lovely summer weather. Thanks so much for the time and energy you put into your work! xo

I saw this on IG and was super excited for you to post it! I love stupidly simple salads, but only when they taste amazing! Please thank your friends Dad for me, because I am totally going to be eating this salad daily! LOVE that it will keep in the fridge for days too! YAY to being lazy! Cheers, Annie! <3Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary recently posted…Bacon, Maple & Butternut Squash Scones {with Honey Butter}